Advice please - stray taken in

My wife and I took in a stay that had been out in the cold and snow for at least 24 hours if not more. She is likely not feral as she is very trusting and affectionate. We are not sure her bred but she is short hair and bluish/grey with yellow eyes.

We already have 3 cats and a dog. We've put the kitten in a separate room but had her on me when on the couch. When another cat came near the kitten hissed as did my adult cat who never hisses. They did not get close to one another as I have been unable to take the kitten to the vet yet (have an appointment Monday morning).

We gave the kitten a regular bath as she smelled bad. She also had dirt on her belly. She scratched a bit too. Her ears were a bit dirty but not with mites.

I was about to sleep in the room with her until I felt something on my neck. I caught it and looked at it under a light and think it is a flea.

Now I'm worried my other cats might get them as well. We have almost no carpet in our home luckily. We can't see the vet for 40+ hours and I won't buy Hertz flea meds.

Is it bad to give another bath but this time a flea med bath? I have the Zodiac flea spray I can spray in the room the kitten is staying while she is being bathed. Is this enough?

Thoughts re: behavior with my cats as that didn't happen when my two cats met the third for the first time (oddly enough the third cat and my cat that hissed started hissing at one another after the incident with the kitten)?

Thanks

Hi, thanks for rescuing this poor little baby :heart3:

I would keep the little one separated in a new room until you get tested for FeLV/FIV and for a proper introduction. You can bathe the kitty with regular Dawn dishwasher soap for the time being - it will just remove the fleas, then wait for the proper flea treatment from the vet on Monday. I would not put anything else - would not do a flea bath either, unless it was at a professional cat groomer.
I can't speak for others, but I've had a cat with a VERY bad flea problem in my bathroom for quite a few days until the problem got resolved and none of the other cats got fleas (I did treat them) not did I get an infestation in my home.
So I think as long as you get all of them treated on Monday, you will likely be fine :nod:

here is the TCS article on how to introduce cats to cats: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

Welcome to TCS!!

You got good advices.  My though is, if she is trusting and affectionate, she is not any semiferal, and probably not homeless either. She either got astray, or were dumped.

If she were dumped, you will not find the old owner.

But if she got astray, there may be people anxiously hoping she will get back!

Try to search after them. Write her up on message boards around. Vets around, shelters around...

Make also sure the vet search her around the whole body for microchip. The microchip is usually placed on the backside neck, between the shoulders, but it can wander.  All vets have readers, so it is no big deal for them to search around.

Dont describe her too closely. Let the right owner identify himself by describing her accurately.

If you dont want to shiny with your own name and adress, use a prepaid mobile / cellphone card, and or a yahoo mail.

Tx for helping this little sis of ours!

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!